Belgium takes good care of Canada’s war dead
Like so many young men, he lied about his age to join the military.
He was just 16 years old when he enlisted, and couldn’t have been more proud to go to Belgium during the First World War to represent Canada and set a mad world right.
Charles Brown, a young infantryman, was my husband’s great uncle.
My husband didn’t know him, of course, and neither did his father, who has long wondered about his Uncle Charles, the brave war hero.
Sadly, he died at just 17, part of a tunnelling battalion in the Ypres area of Belgium.
No one in the family had ever been to his gravesite.
After a recent Croisi river cruise in Belgium, we disembarked at Oostende.
It was there we decided to go in search of and pay tribute to this distant relative.
My husband had done some research into the military records of Uncle Charles, and armed with a few printouts, we found our way into Ypres, and visited the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
We were fairly sure we knew where he was laid to rest, but with cemeteries literally dotting the countryside in the Flanders area of Belgium, we thought it best to doublecheck.
A pleasant woman greeted us and we presented her with the information we had found online.
She swiftly looked it over and said: “Just a moment.” And with that, she disappeared upstairs. In less than five minutes, she was back with everything we needed, including Uncle Charles’ military details and exact GPS coordinates of the cemetery.
We were shocked at the documentation they had over 100 years later.
Before heading out, we visited the In Flanders Fields museum, in the centre of Ypres.
The Belgians have beautifully honoured the fallen, and their deep gratitude to those who fought to liberate them can be felt in every corner of the museum.
The museum is an thoughtful mix of video, artifacts, quiet spots to reflect, and an overwhelming sense of ensuring that no one who gave the ultimate sacrifice is forgotten.
After our visit to the museum, armed with our trusty GPS, we headed off and were easily able to find the Woods Cemetery.
As mentioned, it’s one of so many, which is hard to fathom until you see it.
As we walked through a tree-covered long tunnel in the forest, the silence of this place was profound. And deafening. At the end of the pathway, we found Woods Cemetery.
I’m not sure what I expected, but a graveyard of more than 100 years old, at least in my mind, would be somewhat overgrown, with mossy headstones. Not here. Not in this place. Not as long as the Belgians have anything to say about it.
This particular cemetery was the final resting place of many Canadians and British fallen soldiers.
The pristine lawns, beautiful statues, meticulous gateway and crisp, white, marble headstones embody how the Belgians honour the war dead.
A lovely white headstone, the maple leaf carefully carved into it, seemed a beautiful, peaceful place to us, and we were overcome with emotion.
I noticed many other nearby headstones with small pebbles atop them.
I wondered if perhaps people who visited had brought a piece of home from Canada or the U.K. to put on their loved-one’s final resting place.
We, however, did not know about this, and hadn’t brought any piece of Canada’s great outdoors.
I suddenly felt ill-prepared, and somewhat guilty. But then, it dawned on me. I did have something Canadian with me. Among my tourist-wallet full of Euros, I had a toonie.
So, besides the flowers we laid at his headstone, I carefully placed a shiny, Canadian $2 coin on the marble.
We took a moment to pay our respects and made our way back to Ypres. If you go, make sure to be there. Every night at 8 p.m. at the Menin Gate in the heart of the town, a ceremony of remembrance and thanks is held for the allies who fought and died there.
You read that right. Every evening of every day of every year, for nearly 100 years now. It’s truly moving ceremony. We’re extremely proud Canadians when we travel abroad, but there, in Belgium, I think my maple-leaf shaped heart grew just a little more.
Thank you Uncle Charles. Your sacrifice was the ultimate one, and I hope in our small way, on our recent visit, we let you know how grateful we are.